Apparatus for the production of music



B. F. MIESSNER APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MUSIC Original Filed July 17, 1936 June 24, 1941;

lOllO Patented June 24, 1941 APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION F MUSIC Benjamin F. Miessner, Mllburn Township, Essexv County, N. J., assignor to Miessner Inventions, Inc., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 17, 1936, Serial No. 91,092 Renewed March 8, 1940 (Cl. SLi-1.14)

7 Claims.

This invention relates to the production of music, and more particularly to that production from tuned vibrators-for example reeds. While not in all aspects necessarily limited thereto, the invention has special reference to the production of musical tones, and to their control, through mechanico-electro-acoustic translation.

It is an object of my invention to provide mproved forms of reed-blocks for the reeds of a musical instrument.

It is another object to provide improved forms of reed assemblies for a musical instrument.

It is another object to provide improved means and methods for controlling the vibrational characteristics of the reeds.

It is another object to provide improved arrangements of translating devices for the reeds.

Still another object is to provide an improved means of making electrical connection with the reeds.

Still another object is to reduce undesired interaction between the reeds for different notes of a musical instrument.

Yet another object isrto provide novel and useful arrangements of mutually coupled reeds.

A broad object is the provision of a generally improved instrument for the production of music from tuned reeds.

Other and allied objects will more fully appear from the following description and the appended claims.

In the description reference is had companying drawing, of which:

Figures 1 through 4 illustrate a preferred form of reedy according to the invention, Figure 1 being a plan view of the reed-block, Figure 2 being a cross-sectional View thereof taken along the line 2-2 of the Figure 1, Figure 3 being a view like Figure 2 but showing the reed secured to the block, and Figure 4 being a cross-sectional view of a reed-cell with the reed of the earlier figures in place therein;

Figure 5 is a view, partly plan but principally schematic, of an instrument which may for example embody the reed illustrated in the earlier figures; g

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a modified reed and block assembly capable of alternative employment in an instrument, for example that of Figure 5;

Figures 7 and 8 are respectively cross-sectional and plan views of a further modied reed as sembly, Figure 7 being taken along-the line '1 1 of Figure 8 and illustrating certain translating features not shown in the latter figure; and

to the ac- Figures 9 and 10 are respectively cross-sectional. and plan views of a still further modiiied reed assembly, Figure 9 being taken along the line 3-ll of Figure 10 and illustrating certain translating features not shown in the latter figure.

It is conventional practise in the manufacture of reed assemblies to prepare the reedbloclr series of appropriate cutting and milling operau tions. In the Figures 1 through d I have illustrated an improved form of reed-block which may be completely prepared from a fiat stool; oy a blanking and forming operation, as in an ap propriate punch press. This block, designated its entirety by the numeral I, will be seen to cornprise the top portion la, and the mutually com tinuous side portions ih and end portion ic folded over from and at right angles to the o portion la. In the same operation which folds over the side and end portions there may he pierced in the top portion la the slot 3, the rivet ,hole 4, the reed aperture 2, and the hole 5. The slot 3 forms a finger-hold for the asseniby, to facilitate its removal from the cell in which it may be inserted; the rivet hole t is provided for the riveting in place of the reed; the aperture 2 is that through which the reed vibrates; function of the hole 5 will be hereinafter dA scribed. The reed-block so provided is not one which may be formed with a minimum labor, but also represents an. entr new ruI structure, which after slight aging t ll i. very proof against warping and other ment tending to disturb the tuning and other justments of the reed which may be sec1 thereto. All its portions are of substantially t same thickness, and an immense re-iniorceru is provided by the folded-over side and end tions for the entire block and in particular i y. the longitudinal portion wherein the aperture is located. While the folding over o end of* tions need not be restricted to the single on s illustrated, I have preferred so to restrio it in order that the block, when inserted into drawn from its cell, Will assuredly clear piolgw electrodes or the like which may be provided in a position just beneath the reed.

In Figure 3 the reed has been shown a; r priately secured in place on the blocli: i. reed proper has been designated as i, securf or integrally formed with a reed-base il, whi the element actually riveted to the block. thror h the hole 4. The reed may oi course beorrr so as to provide any desired vibrational form; but in these iigures I have illustrated reed as essentially straight (subject to si aperture 2) and have shown a novel manner of5 obtaining those relationships of longitudinal reed configuration to longitudinal block configuration which may be required., This consists in the appropriate formation of the block rather than of the reed. Simply to insure the vibration of the reed,v with what may be considered a representative reed vibrational characteristic, I may provide for 'example a single depression 6a in the top surface of the reed-block Ytop Ia on both sides of the aperture 2 near the free extremity of the reed; while with this or any reed-block such a depression may be formed as by milling, it is particularlyV convenient with a block formed as I have above described to make this depression by a forming operation coincident with the main forming operation above set forth. n

For the production of special vibrational modes of the reed, theremay be employed any desired number Vand arrangement of such depressions in the top surface of the block top Ia; and an additional such depression has been illustrated in the gures as Bb-of somewhat smaller longitudinal extent for example than the depression 6a and located relatively further from the free extremity of the reed. And while I have hereinabove referred to depressions or recesses in the top surface, it will be understood that I may alternatively or additionally employ raised portions, such as I have illustrated in the figures as 6c; these of course amount to recesses in the bottom surface; And it will be understood that in combination with these special formations of the reed-block I may if desired employ, instead of straight reeds, reeds which are themselves provided withA the normal slight bent formation or with highly special bent formations; such a combination of formed reed with the formed block has been shown in Figure 4. Because of its formation, the reed in Figure 4 has'been designated as 'I'.

a 1n Figure 4 the reed is shown in place in its,

vcell I0, provided in a reed-housing 9; the cell Y may in general be of conventional construction,

and will not be described in detail. It may simply be mentioned that the reed slides into a groove I3 provided about the bottom of the cell Ill; that communicating with the cel1 I0 through the space which the aperture 2 occupies upon insertion of the reed is an enlarged air space I2; and that with this air space communicates the duct or channel II which of course is connected to the usual reservoir of pressure or suction (not shown) It may also be mentioned that in order to prevent uncontrolled leakage between space I2 and the outside atmosphere past the bottom edge of the folded-over end portion Ic and outer portions of the folded-over side portions Ib, there may be provided along the bottom of the reed cell from the space I2 outwardly a layer I4 cf `end of the screw 45 may be conically shaped, and

the screw may be of suicient diameter as to close the hole 5 when fully screwed against the block; thus by an adjustment of the screw there is provided a control over leakage from the space I2 to the cell III-i. e., by passing the reed, and thus regulating the effective suction or pressure thereon. It will be obvious that this control is useful not only for purposes above set forth, including compensation for certain reed characteristics, but also to compensate for inequalities in the ducts leading to the reeds, in individual valves which may control those ducts, etc.

It is contemplated that the vibrations of the reed will be made audible by means of mechanico-electro-acoustic translation; and while notfall aspects of my invention are to be limited thereto, I have preferred for the mechanico-lectric portion of this translation to employ electrostatic translating means. Simple embodiments of such translating means require the formation, between the reed and associated nearby electrode or electrodes, of one or more small electrical capacities. While these capacities may be rendered effective by either high frequency or direct'current, the latter is frequently more convenient, and has been'specially illustrated. In employing it an electrical charge is maintained in each capacity; and means are employedwhereby the tendency of theV charge to vary with variations of the capacity are, for rapid or oscillatory capacity variations, reduced. In this way, as is well understood, the voltage across the capacity is caused to vary in accordance with oscillatoryV variations of the capacity.

For the making of an electrical connection to the reed, required in the case of the preferred electrostatic translation, I have shown in Figure 4 an arrangement which-I have found particularly convenient. It consists simply of a wire, appearing in cross section in Figure 4 as I5, partially imbedded in, or secured as by cementing to, the face of the compressible layer I4 above mentioned. Upon insertion of the reed-block into the cell, portions of it (i. e., the folded over- .side portionsY Ib) will rest upon this wire; this pressure being resisted by thelayer I4, good electrical contact of the wire with the reed-block is insured and, the reed-block being made of metal, automatic connection of the wire I5 to the reed is secured by the mere insertion of the reed-block into the cell.

InFigure 4 there are illustrated two capacities for effecting the electrostatic translation from the reed; these are the capacities I6 and I1, respectively formed with the reed by the electrodes I8 and I9, which electrodes may accordingly be considered as mechanico-electric translating devices for the reed. As has been disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 758,155, filed December 14, 1934, one of the two electrodes ls associated with the top and the Vother of the two electrodes with the bottom of the reed; but in this instance I have shown a still more special arrangement of the two translating devices for the production ofY a special result. Thus the translating device associated with the bottom of the reed is placed, in the longitudinal reed dlmension, very near the free end of the reed,

vices; thus the output of the translating device associated with the bottom of the reed-i. e., the electrode i9--will be relatively rich in upper partial components, while the output of the other translating device--i. e., the electrode i-will be relatively much less rich in these components. This contrast results from the fact that a greater richness in upper partial components is secured by translation from the bottom of the reed, and a greater such richness tends also to be produced the nearer to the free extremity of the reed the translating device is placed; by the Joint reliance on these two effects I am able to make more striking a contrast which, were reliance to be placed on either of these characteristics alone, would be more meagre.

It may be mentioned that the tendency toward greater upper partial richness in translation from the bottom of thereed appears to arise from the facts that when the reed is in its downmost or nearly downmost position the greatest departure of its motion from sinusoidal occurs, and that in the case of the bottom side translation this departure therefore o'ccurs when the reed is relatively near to the translating device end hence has its maximum effect upon it. As will hereinafter appear, the outputs of these two translating devices are subjected to individual amplitude control, and still more preferably to individual amplitude and phase control, and are thereafter combined and translated into sound; accordingly the enhanced degree of contrast between the outputs of these translating devices is very beneficial in securing the utmost exibility of control over the output tone resulting from their joint use.

While the arrangements which I have thus far described and illustrated are not limited in their application to speciiic forms of instruments, I have nevertheless in Figure illustrated their employment in an instrument wherein all the reeds are kept continuously blowing, tone cornmencement and termination being effected at will by an electrical control of the translation lfrom each reed. Such an instrument has been broadly disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 67,245, tiled March 5, 1936 (on which Patent No. 2,237,105 has since been issued); but in the instrument of Figure 5 I have shown certain further particular features.

Herein a portion of a reed-housing 2, which may be according to Figure 4, appears in plan view; along the top of this housing will be seen a conductive strip through which the top electrodes I8 are threaded, and along the bottom of the housing appears the conductive strip 2| through which the electrodes I! are threaded, these strips appearing in cross-section in Figure 4. Each of these strips is connected to some reference potential which is conveniently denoted ground, through a respective resistance, these resistances appearing as 22 and 23 respectively. It will thus be seen that the electrodes are all maintained, in respect of their mean potential, at that of ground; and thus only when any reed is established at a different potential from ground will there be any charge in the capacities associated with it. The playing of the instrument may thus be accomplished by appropriately applying to and removing from the individual reeds nonground potentials. These potentials may be applied irom a battery or other potential source 24, of which one extremity is grounded. through a plurality o! switches 25 associated with the respective keys of thev instrument (not shown).

one side of each of these switches is connected to battery 2 4, and the other side of each switch is connected to an individual one of the wires i5 and thus to an individual reed. The latter connection is preferably made through amulti-section resistance-capacity time delaying system, in

order that the change of potential onthe reed shall be gradual rather than abrupt; and accordingly I have shown serially inserted in each of these connections a resistance 26 and a resistance 28, condensers 2l and 29 being respectively con-v nected from the reed-ward extremity of each resistance to ground. In order that the potentialv It will be appreciated that upon closing' of l any one of these switches 25 (which may preferably though not' indspensably be of the iormt' l illustrated in my said en -pending application .plies the ducts Il oi the individual reeds.

Serial No. 67,245) the reed potential, normally ground, will rise rapidly though not abruptly to' a iinite value, remaining ai. this value so long as the switch is maintained closed and falling there from to ground potential rapidly though not abruptly upon ire-opening of the switch. the reed potential is so raised above ground the capacities between it and the associated elec-- trodes (e. g., i8 and i9) will be charged; resistances 22 and 23 serve to reduce the tendencies of the charges to change with the vibrationproduced variations of the capacities; and accordingly the voltage across the capacities will vary oscillatorily in accordance with the characteristics of the capacity vibration and will appear across the resstances 22 and From these resistances the respective voltages may be applied -to the respective amplifying tubes 3d and 35 through the respective condensers 32 and 33; these tubes have been illustrated with the respective grid leaks 36- and 3l and the respective condensively by-passed biasing resistors 38 and 39, and with the common plate supply voltage source or battery 40, In the output circuits of these tubes may be connected timbre control system Il, which may for example of the yform illustrated in Figure 4 or Figure 6 of United.

States Patent No. 1,906,607, issued May 2, 1933, tc Charles T. Jacobs. From the output oi the timbre control system the oscillations, which have therein been mixed together in any'of a variety of amplitude and phasev relationships, may be led to the amplifier I2 and therefrom to the loudspeaker 4I; the amplifier may of course be provided with the pedal-operated volume control 44 and with such other quantitative and qualitative controls as may be desired.

A special feature of the instrument of Figure 5 lies in the physical arrangement oi' the reeds in the reed-housing 9. In instruments wherein the reeds are continuously vibrated there is a tendency for mutually adjacent Areeds to react on each other in various waysr-prin` cipally in acoustic manner, resulting from the air couplings in free atmosphere immediately outside the individual cells, and from air couplings in any common air channel which sup- If the reeds are arranged in ordinary chromatic sequence, these interactions are largest between reeds which are in frequency related to each other by the musical half-tone interval; as to While any one reed therefore the frequencies of reactlon'upon it are 'dissonana' and Ithe eiect thereof u'pon'the vvibration ofand translation from that 'reed' may'be'lv'e'iryunpleasant: -Inmy said cri-'pending application Serial-No. 67,245 I have shown certain meansffo'r reducing'or eliminating this` interaction;V but according tol the instant invention Iv accomplish this' reduction for elimination ina different mann-er." Thus `in the reedhou's-i-r'1g"`9j vI arrangeto be mutually adjacent Teach 'otheri'only VV'reeds havingv harmonically" related frequencies-frexample, only reeds 'of 'frequencies 'relate-:i to-eac'h other by the factor 2 and "itspewer's: Furtheri'nore by'V any Single air chan- 'nel,"s'u'ch as 66d, vinthe reed-housing I supf'ply-only-'the mutually adjacent reeds `solhar monically relatedasaforesaid. ThusV in Figure-"15' t-he 'mutually' adjacent reeds 1a may'all be arranged as reeds tuned to `the-note C 'in diffrent oetaves-of-the instrument; the ducts filmrol-'Tail these reeds-maybe supplied by the "common air channel--46a.-correspondingly the V4reeds lbftuned-jto" the note C# inv thev several 'octaves Aiotthe -instrument may' be arranged together inanothe'r group, and .their ducts Hb `preferably supplied by a -di'stinct channel 56h in'the'reed-housing S;- and so on, inthis case in twelve groups. '-It is tobe understood, however,

*that I ammetto be limited to this number of "groups-,hrte the-arrangement of each group to conta'inonlyoct'avely related reeds, as I may V'obviously provide' other arrangements meeting the specifications' 'of simple harmonic relationship-of the reeds in each group. f v j' Since vit-'=may `bel4 convenientto arrange the' severa-l groups such 'manner .that the extreme shortestair pathbetween the extreme cell for one group Vandthat-forthe adjacent group.

Iii-Figure 6 I have illustrated analternative form of free reed whichfmay for example be employed 'inthe instrument ofFigure 5; with this 'f'.reed there is.. achieved a greater approach to purepisto'n action than' with the reed of earlier fguresf '-Anysconvenient block may be employed, 'sudh :s-the block l lhereinabove*described; but fthe aperturerther'ein'for the reed may `be of ref stricted -.1ength, not'rfas before L; extending Y; ,fully tothe base ofthe reed, and haszaccordingly been -designatedas 2f; :The: reed-"designated as 'l, :may vhavefthe`l portion 1a' Aextendingslightly up- 'fwa-rdlay-fromthe blockvand away-from the reedbase 8.; but approximatelyv above the inner extremity of the aperture 2', it'.is"provided..with the 'dowri'ward offset lbfj causingits outer. portion lc'to rst'fssentiauy-in the apertures'. It isof upon thisou'ter portion 1c onlyrrthatfthe limmedi.al-'teeffectof the' pres'surefor suction' is Y exertedA Itfwill be understood 'thatthe vibra.'- 'tional''rfiioclevvil'l be jointly influeried by' the :char- "ticjs and coniigurations ofv both the porafgana" '1c' i "but the' latter 'portion' is perif desired be associated with the portion fla', for example .at the oil'set 1b', as illustrated.` I

In Figuresl'l-B-and 97-10`I have shown, in'two differentarrangelnents, still another form of reed capable of employment in the instrument of Figr ure 5. 'This form is a double one, wherein a vfree reed is carried by and thus closelyV coupled to another: reed-which in'Figures 7-8 is a free reed and in Figures 9-10 a beating reed.'

- Referring now more specifically to Figures 7-8,

there will be seen shown by way o'f example a base. i similar to. that,l of earlier figures. To this is secured the reed base8 carrying the reed 1. yBy v irtueof theemployment of the aperture 2 as heretofore, this 'reed againoperates as a free reed; and electrode i8 has been illustrated vas a mechanico-electric translating deviceunderneath its free extremity, as before.' To the top' of the reedvlnear thev base -8, however, 'there is now shown riveted the heelof a smaller free reed 51, whichl may 'be formed vfor example so that its free extremity is longitudinally similarly directed v to ,that of the reed l but spaced therefrom. The two reeds 'i and 5l will be tunedin harmonic relationship to each other-thus, in view of their close'cou'pling, forming ,an embodiment of the ha'rmonically related and mutually coupled reeds disclosed and claimedl in my co-'pending application Serial No'. 67,245 abovementioned; in this instance, however, the coupling is particularly ,close It is'to be'apprecia'ted, of course,'that the vibrational frequency of the reed l will be somewh'ataffected bythe effective mass of the yreed "57i but the final tuning of the reedsis of course accomplished after their mutual assembly. A` translating device for the reed- 51 has been lillustrated in the form ofelectrode 59 above its free extremity; a translating device for the top of` reed 1 is now of course most conveniently 'located at its extremity, and appears asv I8', a

translating device for the bottom appearing as electrode 'I9'. By amplitude and phase control, asjhereinabove described, of the outputs of all thesestranslating devices before combinati0n,a

v VWidel'varietyof tonal eects may be secured.

The essential difference of Figures 9-10 from Figures 7-8 lies of course in the'fact that the' Y lower reed, now designated as 1", is arranged as a beating instead of a free reed; the aperture in the reed-block, now designated at 2", is accordingly made appropriately smaller'so that the reed on its sides andffree extremity will overhang the aperture to beat against the block top.

vGenerally similar translating device arrangements have been illustratedjin these lfigures by way of example. The reed 5l may in this in- V'reed near the base.

stancebe riveted to the lower reed at a point slightly further from'the base 8 of the latter,

in order to 'provide room for a longitudinally adjustable 4tuning wire to press against the lower This tuning Wire has been illustrated at 60, having the angled portion 60a adapted'to'press against the reed, and itself ad- ."justably secured asin any convenient stationary `'block v3| by means'for example of as crew 62;

.fthe use of such tuning wires for beating reeds is itself well known in the art. By the double'unit comprising harmonically related beating and free reedsf'lam'able to vsecure an' especially wide variety of tonal effects upon mixing 0,1"l the mu- --tually controlled outputsfof the several trans- 'Y'lating devices-but of course at the expense of Athe slightly lessstability of vtuning of the beating than of a free reed. ,l It willbe understood lthat'while I have described my invention in terms of specic embodments thereof, I do not intend that it be limited by the details of those embodiments; rather I intend in the following claims to claim my invention, including its several novel features, as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

I claim:

1. In a musical instrument including a reedblock and a reed secured thereon the combination of a reed-housing provided with a cell having a resilient surface along which said reedblock slips in insertion into said cell, and conductive means carried on said surface and adapted to be contacted by said reed-block upon said insertion thereof.

2. In a musical instrument, the combination with a plurality of reeds respectively tuned to frequencies of successive notes of the musical scale and pneumatic means for continuously vibrating all of said reeds: o1' means housing said reeds, said reeds being arranged in said housing means in groups each of which comprises reeds oi' frequencies mutually related in simple harmonic relationships.

3. The combination according to claim 2, further including means carried by said housing means for suppressing coupling between reeds o1' respectively different groups.

4. In a musical instrument, the combination with a terminally secured solid free reed arranged for pneumatic excitation: of a second free reed terminally secured to the first said reed near the secured end thereof and vibrated thereby, and mechanico-electric translatingmeans associated with at least said second reed.

5. In a musical instrument, the combination with a pair of mutually coupled and harmonically tuned free reeds: of pneumatic exciting means diretly operative on one of said reeds only, and mechanico-electric translating means associated with at least the other of said reeds.

6. In a musical instrument including a tuned reed and means for establishing a flow of air past said reed whereby to vibrate the same: the combination oi' a reed-block supporting said reed and provided with an aperture across which said reed extends and throughwhich said flow takes place, said reed-block being further provided with air-leakage means by-passing said aperture whereby to regulate saidflow.

7. In a musical instrument including a reed housing having a cell, a reedblock provided with an aperture and adapted for insertion in -said cell, a reed associated with said aperture, and means providing an air duct communicating with said aperture: the combination of means in said block providing a leakage hole communicating with said duct, and adjustable means mounted in said housing for regulating the effective size of said hole.

BENJAMIN F. MIESSNER. 

